Time Lord on Ice
by The Dizzy Doctor
Summary: The Doctor and Peri land in New York in the 1920s, prepared for a quiet evening at the theater, little they suspect that an old friend is preparing a very deadly cocktail.
1. Prologue

This is my first serious work of fanfiction, my first language is not English, so please point out any serious grammatical error. Thank you for checking this fic and happy reading!

**THIS STORY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE TV SERIALS 'VENGEANCE ON VAROS' AND 'THE MARK OF THE RANI'**

* * *

**Prologue  
**

The place was almost empty. About a dozen gentlemen sit in the shadows, avoiding the light that shone without mercy over the whole establishment. There was a quiet, almost confident, feeling about the place. What happens in Tarmes' stays in Tarmes', people used to say. And they were right. Only the worst scum stepped into that bar. It was a refuge for the dishonest and the pursued by the law, where no deals were made without a gun on the table. And where the worst crimes stayed a secret.

There was a small stage, a couple of inches over the dirty floor of the club, with an old microphone and a couple of lights pointing at it. There stood a man, a stranger to the public of Tarmes', with blond curly hair and a suit that looked expensive, but it was dirty and ragged with the jacket missing. He stared, worried, at the clientele of the bar, as he approached the microphone. Then he yelled:

"You have to get out of here! All of you! You'll die, one by one, if you stay!"

The bar stayed silent for a second. Then the intoxicated customers started laughing and applauding. The man in the stage looked at them in amazement and tried to warn them once more, but two thugs came after him and dragged him out of the stage and into the back of the bar.

"You look tired, why don't you rest for a while?. I'll handle the clientele, my dear Doctor" said the figure in the shadows, as he hit the man with a sort of energy beam. The Doctor collapsed instantly.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"We've landed" said the Doctor with a smile on his face. He was wearing a dark purple suit with a white frilled shirt, very different from the multicolored coat he used to flaunt.

"Oh, great!" said Peri, coming out of the door that led to the corridors of the TARDIS. "Good old Earth! At last!"

"Yes! Earth! Birthplace of the most wonderful poets in this galaxy! Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda..." The Doctor took his eyes out of the console to look at his young companion, who was wearing a blue, very elegant dress with a velvet collar. "Very smart! What do you think of my suit?" he asked as he turned around, to let Peri admire the totality of his clothes.

"Very proper, Doctor! I'm impressed" she answered with a smirk "I didn't know you had a taste for the discreet!"

"Well, I do. Or rather I used to, it belonged to a previous incarnation of mine, he liked this kind of outfits. Too full of himself if you ask me." said the Doctor, with a nostalgic look on his face.

"Well, at least it's not yuck!" responded Peri, snapping the Doctor out of his daydreams. "New York in the 20s then, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Let's go!" answered the Doctor as he opened the doors of the ship.

The couple came out of the blue police box and into the cold winter night. They had landed in one of the smaller streets perpendicular to the bigger avenues.

"It's freezing! Couldn't you have landed us in the summer?" said Peri as she hugged herself for warmth, with her dress barely covering her arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think about it. Here, have my jacket" said the Doctor as he wrapped it around Peri's shoulders.  
"Thanks, but won't you be cold?"

"Oh, nonsense, Time Lords can withstand much lower temperatures than humans!" he answered.

"I can see your teeth chattering, Doctor."

"Yes, quite, let's find a warmer, and brighter, place"

In one of the corners of the narrow street there were three men, trying to go unnoticed while they listened in on The Doctor and Peri's conversation.

"Look at those two birds." said Bruce, a middle aged man with a mustache and blue eyes, wearing a long overcoat and a fedora.

"Someone would pay big money to get a girl like that back from, say, three very bad mobsters." responded Mickey, a sharp faced man with a nose that looked like it had been broken once too often, while he took out a cigarette from one of the inner pockets of his expensive italian suit.

"What 'bout the man, you think we can take him?" said the other one, a tall and muscular man, who people called Raz.

Mickey and Raz started laughing at the idea while Bruce analized the Doctor and Peri's movements.

"Pipe down, you stupid, they are coming this way." said Bruce as he dedicated a fiercily look to his partners in crime.

He was the one responsible for the two fools, Mickey and Raz, and in case they got killed he'd have to answer to the boss. That was the last thing Bruce wanted to do. His boss was a dangerous man. He paid well, but he was also absolutely mad.

"So, how about the theater? Broadway, that kind of stuff." said Peri as her and the Doctor walked towards the main street.

"Sure! I love musicals, I've always had a special touch with music. I used to help a fellow with his songs... Frank, he was called."

"Frank?"

"Sinatra of course!" answered the Doctor with a childlike smile.

"Of course!" said Peri laughing. She loved it when he name dropped.

"I tell you, Peri, I taught him all he knew!"

The couple carried on walking and laughing when suddenly the three mobsters jumped them. It all happened in a flash.

Mickey and Bruce grabbed Peri, as Raz, who the Doctor would later describe as being about 10 feet tall, stood between him and his companion.

"Let me go!" screamed Peri, as she kicked about trying to hit one of his captors.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" said the Doctor, menacing.

"Oh you Brits always triying to rescue the damisel in distress." remarked Raz with a smirk on his face.

While the Doctor tried to get past the thug, Mickey and Bruce dragged Peri towards the car they had parked around the corner.

"Get a move on, Raz! We are going with or without you!" yelled Mickey.

"Coming! Sweet dreams, Sir." said Raz.

"Sweet drea..." started to ask the Doctor. Then he saw Raz's fist going straight for his face. His reflexes failed him.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The backdoor to one of the clubs in the street opened up and a small ginger man came out flying and landed in the cold pavement.

"Beat it, Eddie! And you better tell your old man that if he doesn't show up next time, business is over!" said the man who had pushed him.

"But... I don't..." started to complain the boy, but the door was shut before he could complete his sentence.

The young man got up as he shook the dust out of his oversized suit.

Eddie started walking towards his home, with his knees, and his pride, badly hurt. "Thanks a bunch, Dad" he said to himself. That's when he saw a body in the middle of the dark alleyway. He had seen dead people before, of course, it was something normal in that neighborhood, but it was always painful, as it reminded him of what his father had done several times. They didn't talk about it, but Eddie could sense it everytime he came home from work. He was shaky and a smell of blood still remained in his hands.

Eddie shook his head to push away the thoughts, as he approached the body to check the identity of the poor fool.

He knelt on top of the man; he didn't know him. Eddie sighed relieved, he was sorry for the fellow, but better him than a friend. When he was about to get up again and leave him to rest, he noticed something clutched in the corpse's hand. As he was reaching for it, the man opened his eyes.

"Ah!" screamed Eddie as he jumped, almost reaching the other side of the street.

"Tillie? Don't be afraid Tillie." said the man as he tried to incorporate, failed and fell again to the floor.

"Who?" asked Eddie while he carefully walked towards the strange man.

"Yes? I'll be right with you, Victoria." responded the stranger as he rubbed his swallen jaw.

"What? I... you were dead! I saw you! You weren't breathing!" said Eddie as he looked at him, bewilded.

"Oh, just a defense mechanism, nothing to worry about..." He finally looked at the young man and was surprised to see a strange face. "Who on earth are you?"

"I'm... wait... you aren't a cop are you?"

"What? Oh! A police man? Not exactly. Why, are you a criminal?" asked the man as he tried to raise from the floor again.

"Not... exactly..." Eddie said with a sad grim.

"Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?" he said, smiling at Eddie.

"I suppose not... I'm Edward Malcolm Junior, but everybody calls me Eddie" he answered whilst helping the stranger to get up.

"Thank you, my name is the Doctor, nice to meet you." he said, while he shook Eddie's hand.

A piece of clothing fell to the ground from the Doctor's hand. He picked it up. It was a blue velvet rag, part of Peri's dress. The Doctor clutched it in his hand, as he damned himself for not being able to save her.

"I'll find you Peri, whatever the cost, I'll find you..."

The three thugs had taken Peri inside the club with a lot of difficulty, and were on the process of conducing her through an alleway with several doors at both sides, when from one of this doors, one that gave to a small clean office, a grave voice said:

"Bring her inside, Bruce."

The three men stopped in their tracks recognising the voice. Bruce went in first, as the other two stayed with the girl in the hall.

"We just thought we could get some money out of her, boss, that dress looks expensive, and..." started to say Bruce, measuring the words he dedicated to his superior, who was sitting in a big black leather chair with his back to him.

"Bring her in and close the door as you leave" said the mysterious man, with a patient and soothing voice.

"You heard him, boys" said Bruce resigned, as he signaled Mickey and Raz to sit the girl in one of the chairs in the office.

As they were leaving, and Peri was preparing to dash trough the doors and escape, the man spined his chair and faced her.

She recognized him inmediatly. He was a middle aged man with short brown hair and a goatee which made his face look untrustworthy, accompanied by a pair of deep blue eyes, always on the look out, that never seemed to miss a thing.

"The young Perpugillian Brown... So nice to see you again" said the Master with a subtle smile in his lips.

"Don't you ever get a holiday, Master?" asked Peri, resigned.

"Oh my dear Peri, you shouldn't jump to conclusions. What makes you think I'm not on holiday?" responded the Master with an innocent look.

"Give me a break! I can smell your rotten plans a mile away."

The Master laughed as he took out his Tissue Compression Eliminator, and pointed it at Peri. This weapon was a personal favorite of the Master. He had developed it, in secret of course, when he was preparing to leave Gallifrey. So long ago now... The Master let the thoughts leave him as he turned his concentration back to his young captive.

"So my counterpart is around, then?" he asked.

"That's right, and he'll stop you like he always does... Aren't you tired of getting your ass kicked, Master?" said Peri, as she dedicated him a brave look.

"We'll see... I'm well protected here. The moment a man with the description of the Doctor passes through the door my thugs will get him." said the Master smiling.

"And how do you know what the Doctor looks like?" asked Peri, trying to confuse the Master.

"What?"

Peri smiled, it had worked. The last time the Master and the Doctor had seen each other the Doctor was... well... different. Quite younger, with fair blond hair, and a much more... serene personality.

"Well, I'd like to introduce you to a little thing called regeneration." answered Peri.

"Mmm... Well, that won't do at all... I can't have the Doctor investigating around here while I'm working..." said the Master to himself. "Very well. He will give himself away when he sees you in danger, won't he?"

Peri's smile was wiped out of her face.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Oh no! Oh no, no, no!" said Eddie as he backed away from the Doctor.

He had been explaining to him what had happened. When the description of the three man came Eddie's face turned white as a sheet. The Doctor had asked him if he knew them... Of course he knew them! Everybody did! But they weren't the problem... Their employer, he was the one who had women worrying about their children and their husbands every night.

"Look, Eddie, I need to know. I brought Peri into this, it's my fault and I need to find her. So just tell me where I can find this bar... Tarmes' was it?" said the Doctor as he tried to calm Eddie.

"Yes, but..." started Eddie. "Oh fine, I'll take you there..." responded Eddie resigned, seeing the Doctor's resolution to find his young companion.

They had arrived, the Doctor, eager to discover who was behind the kidnap of Peri, passed through the heavy doors of the club without a second thought. Eddie stayed behind.

"Come on, just a peek, Eddie, I won't get you in any trouble, I promise!" said the Doctor as he grabbed him by the sleeve and took him inside.

The club was quite full, with most of the clientele at the back of the bar, behind the grey smoke of the men's cigars. The Doctor and his friend decided to take a table between the crowd.

A waitress aproached them.

"What are you having, then?" she asked the Doctor.

"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." he answered, concentraiting on the big black box that two men were bringing to the stage, it was about two and a half metres tall, wide enough to fit a person and decorated with all kinds of asian motives.

"Warm milk for you, Eddie? And then straight to bed, don't want your mommy to be worried." said the waitress with a smirk.

"Yeah, right, Gina, just leave us, would ya?" responded Eddie resigned.

After Gina had brought him his drink, and left, the Doctor turned and smiled at Eddie.

"I see you have a way with girls."

"If you knew... We grew up together, she and I, our fathers were friends when we were about 12... until... Well, until they had a big fight about money. Two days later they found his father with two rounds to the head. She still blames my old man..." said Eddie, with a sad face.

"And what do you think?" asked the Doctor.  
"Well, my father is no saint, and I ain't gonna say he has never put anyone on the slab, but they were friends! He was like family to my Pop... I don't know..."

Suddenly the lights at the stage turned on and a small man with a top hat appeared in the stage.

"Ladies and gentleman! I'm proud to introduce you, the greatest magician in this side of Missisipi River! Myself! Gary Goudini!" said the man, with a strong Texan accent.

"Oh, God..." sighted the Doctor, while he drinked a sip of his water.

"For this first trick I must ask a volunteer from the audience." said the small gentleman, while he looked around the bar.

The clientele at the back snorted, while sweat run down the magician's face.

"I see we have shy clients today! That's all right, my lovely assistant will help me, please give a round to applause to the beautiful Miss Brown!" said the man, while Peri came slowly out to the stage. The clientele whistled and clapped, as the magician conduced his young assistant into the center of the stage.

At the left side, hidden between the courtains, a mob was pointing a gun at Peri, while the Master observed the clients of the bar, waiting for the Doctor to give himself up. He would know him the moment he got away from the crowd. There were too many minds together to recognise the Doctor's neurological pattern.

"This trick is known as the chinese torture box." shouted the small man, as he tried to stress the danger of the trick. "Don't worry honey, it's totally safe." he said to Peri under his breath.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure..." answered Peri in a resigned whisper.

The magician put the young girl next to the box and opened the door.

"There is nothing here, as you can see. Touch the walls. Go ahead, honey" said the man. Peri did so. "Clean, right?" Peri nodded. "Good, they cleaned the blood up." answered the magician with a smile. "Now bring the knifes!" said the man, as he grabbed three long blades from the hands of a tall man.

"So that's her, right?" asked Eddie.

"That's her..." answered the Doctor with a worried face. "Oh dear... I can't let this go on, he's going to kill her!" said the Doctor with a nervous expresion, ready to jump out of his chair.

"It's just a trick, Doctor, it's not real." said Eddie with a smile.

"Oh, don't be so naïve, young man." answered the Doctor. "This is very serious."

As the man was pushing Peri into the box the Doctor got up.

"Do you still need that volunteer?" he said.

The magician looked at him surprised. "Oh, well, sure!" said the small man, after getting a nod from the Master. "Yes, come on to the stage!"

Peri looked worried at the Doctor, as he approached them.

"So, what's your name?" said the magician.

The Doctor looked around him and his eyes met the Master's. No point in hiding anymore, then.

"The Doctor" he answered, simply.

"Oh, right, stage name I presume... A fellow performer then! Very nice to meet you, Doctor, come here with me" said the small man as he carried the Doctor to the center of the stage.

The thug on the side of the stage aimed his gun at the Doctor, but the Master stopped him.

"Let him enjoy the entertainment. It'll be his last." said the Master with a malevolent smile.

The Doctor was put into the box by the small magician, and once the doors were closed, he started to put the knifes through the little holes in the box.

A short raging scream came out of the wooden box. Peri and Eddie looked at it with their hearts racing. Once he had finished taking off the blades again, the magician opened the box.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The box was empty. Peri and Eddie sighted relieved. The public clapped softly as the magician bowed. The man smiled, the trick was quite simple. A small trap door, placed straticly under the box, activated when the first knife touched a small switch in one of the holes. The trapdoor led to a small basement under the stage.

The Doctor landed on a wide mattress, that squeaked under his weight.

"Did you have fun, Doctor?" asked the Master as he pointed his Tissue Compression Eliminator at him.

Peri and the Doctor were sitting in the Master's office, as he sat silently in his chair, tapping his fingers.

"You think you are so unsuspicious, with your old suit" started to say the Master, trying to keep his patience. The Doctor had the gift of always showing up at the worst time possible. "But the moment you get away from the crowd, your neurological pattern stands out like a Christmas Tree..."

"Oh, I see! So that's why you wear that hideous multicolor coat! It matches your aura!" said Peri smiling at the Doctor

"It's all about matching colours, Peri! The trick to Time Lord fashion..." started to answer the Doctor.

"Oh, enough!" shouted the Master, losing his patience. He recovered quickly, taking a deep breath.

"Well, you could learn a couple of things about melting with the crowd, Master. I spotted you inmediatly. Black velvet overlays won't be in fasion... well, never, really."

"Oh, but you already knew my face, Doctor." answered the Master "That's hardly fair! And you always play fair, don't you?" the Master was visually bothered by the Doctor's presence.

"It is you who run out of regenerations and stole a body." the Doctor muttered.

"Right... the father of little Nyssa... How is she by the way? I wonder in what dump you left her, after ruining her life like you usually do to whoever is stupid enough to follow you into that suicidal Type 40 of yours..." snapped the Master.

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Type 45, shall I remind you of our grades at the academy? I do remember someone getting an F in someone's driving lessons!"

Peri had had enough.

"Ok, guys, stop comparing TARDIS' sizes!" exclaimed Peri, trying to calm the two Time Lords.

"Yes, right, thank you, Peri. Now, if you would be so kind as to explain us why we are here..." said the Doctor, sitting relaxed in his chair.

The Master looked at both his captives carefully.

"Well, it's not like you are going to be around for much longer, so I suppose I'll grant you the favour of knowing a master plan like mine." bragged the Master, while he got up from his chair.

He approached one of the shelves at the back of the office, and his hand reached a black, damaged, book: "The French Revolution". He threw it on the table and, after a couple of seconds, a secret passage opened up with a sliding sound.

"You are a living cliché, aren't you think Master?" said Peri, as the Doctor passed through the pages of the book the Master had taken out.

Peri got up and walked towards the passage.

"That's not right..." muttered the Doctor before closing the book and following the Master and Peri into the secret corridor.

The interior of the room was big, the black walls were decorated with white circular indents, and in the center of the chamber stood a big hexagonal machine, with a long iluminated cylinder coming out of the middle.

"Of course! I should have known your TARDIS was around." said the Doctor while he paced around the console room. Suddenly he stopped to look at a big machine that surrounded the top of the cylinder. It was a rectangular, black box, with several buttons at the sides and some cables coming out of the top, that run into one adyecent room. "And what exactly is that?" said the Doctor with a worried expression. "What are you playing at, Master?"

"You don't recognize it, dear Doctor? Some years ago, or in a couple of decades, I should say, you will stop me from using one primitive version of that machine to fulfill my plans." responded the Master.

"The Keller Machine..." realised the Doctor.

"Exactly! A perfectioned version, of course. This machine captures the worst thoughts, the most malice of acts, done or to do, and converts them into pure energy." explained The Master, seeing Peri's confused expresion. "And my TARDIS captures that energy for... well, for further use."

"Not for good deeds, I suppose..." answered Peri.

"Oh, you know me too well, young Peri... I've implemented a special circuit into my TARDIS which will activate when enough energy is stored." started to explain the Master "When I have drained enough minds this special circuit will release a magnetic wave that will render every single powerhouse in the entire world useless."

"And that, will destroy the future of the Earth as we know it." stated the Doctor.

"But... how?" asked Peri.

"The 20s were one of the Earth's most important eras, Peri! You humans had just come out of one of the biggest wars in history and the society was in constant change! Electricity was first being brought to the common man, television, radio, street lights, alarms! If he leaves the world without it now, it will change history forever!" said the Doctor, horrified with the Master's plan.

"I'll just leave humanity for a while, and when things are in the brink of disaster... I'll come back, with all the energy from the Keller Machine, ready to give it away. For a price." completed the Master.

"I won't let you do it, I can't let you do it!"

"Oh, Doctor... Did you really think I brought you here for your enjoyment?" laughed the Master as he turned a big circular handle on a heavy iron door in one of the sides of the console room. "In. Both of you." The Master pointed the Tissue Compress Eliminator at Peri and the Doctor as he forced them to enter the chamber.

Once they were in, the door was closed with a heavy sound, and a loud clicking was heard as it locked from the outside.

A shiver shoot through Peri's spine. They were in a freezing unit.

"About 20 degrees below 0, I think." muttered the Doctor as he examined the doors, looking for a way to open them. "Minus 4 Farenheit, that is." said the Doctor, for the sake of his companion.

"And that's not the only thing Doctor." said Peri as she faced towards the interior of the chamber. "I think I just discovered where the Master keeps the people he drains."


End file.
